Awareness, Questioning, and the Path of Compassion

Who was Siddhattha Gotama and what did he awaken to? A reflection on his own account of the awakening as found in his discourse The Noble Quest (Ariyapariyesana Sutta), which identifies 'conditioned arising' as the foundational insight for an awakened life.

Although initially reluctant to teach, the Buddha goes to Benares and explains to five of his former companions what he has realized. This first sermon, Turning the Wheel of Dhamma (Dhammacakkapavatana Sutta), expands the principle of conditioned arising into the practice of 'four enobling truths'.

Rather than four propositions to believe, the four enobling truths are to be seen as injunctions on which to act: Fully know suffering, Let go of craving, Experience cessation, and Creatre a path. Awakening is not, therefore, a 'state', but an ongoing process.

Having entered the stream of the eightfold path, one becomes 'independent of the views of others'. This autonomy is the ground for a new way of being with oneself and the world. It deepens insight and expands empathy, leading to compassion and social engagement.